old_bold&cold

You must remember that China said it was diverifing some of its USD holdings, and yes this has caused tha snowball affect for some other countries. As long as China, Japan and Saudi Arabia do not take the position of dumping all its holdings things will be bad butnot a total collapse for the USD. It could easily lose another .10-.15 against the CDN and a corresponding amount against almost all other currencies. Washington can not do much to stop this and this is exactly what I said 8 months agao that would spell the death of the USD, if it goes to complete diversion of USD holdings. The USA would not be able to honour the call for much of the money it has out there, and if it goes to full diversion we will see a $1.75 CDN. The USA will be very hard to find any new lenders willing to accept debt payment in USD, and that will be very bad. I do not though think it will go this far, but the nervous markets will be quick to jump the gun as soon as things start moving, and that will affect Canada, but not as bad as the USA. What may happen though is that instead of us here in Canada seing our prices drop to the USA pricing, is if this keeps up you will see the USA pricing climbing to meet the Canadian pricing, as it is the weakness of their currency that is going down more then our currency going up, even though we have been going up against all other currencies as well.

Harper has been smug about many things lately, but only because he see that his main opposition has been so busy stabbing each other that they have forgot that the public is watching and the Liberals are really being shown down to their lowest form possible, and Harper did not have to do any thing for this to happen. So yes smug is something that some especially Liberal supporters will say is not a good grace, but how can one not be just a little smug when your opposition are stabbing each other in the back. As I said Harper did this ads mostly to shine a light on all this and making sure the voters see this as it happens, as yes it really does make it so there really is only one party in the next election, as the Liberals really are broken and fragmented in many issues and the people running the party behind the scenes are now being outed slowly but surely. If Harper did nothing else but just sit there and watched, he would still come out way ahead, but he is not one to sit and not do things, so he has planned a good agenda and will make sure it is delivered in a timely manner.

You are wrong I lived thru both and the party's all voted the party line and it never would have passed other wise. The people were not for abolishing the death penalty but rather wanted it limited. It was the political party's that made the decision. The time was right for a meeting of the minds with the party's and it was past. But if you look at all the polling you will find that the majority of the people were still not so willing to abolish it, and rather limit its use. But it does not matter any way. Since you and others are so confident that the people would vote that way again, it would be stuoid for the government to even try changing it now. So whay all the garbage out this. It is only a problem to those whe see plots and ghosts in ever thing that gets done. Harper said he and his party do not want to revisit the death penalty issue and that is that. As for policy where we do not take every avenue to stop other countries from using the death penalty goes, that is not our problem, and yes if a Canadian citizen is given the death penalty, that is not unhumane behaviour, get a brain man. If they slow tortured him to death then yes atht would be unhumane, but there are few places that do the death penalty in unhumane ways.

It really does not take an education to write a constitution. Even the ten commandments could be seen as a kind of constitution. The basic element in such a document can be had from the people, who would have to agree on what is considered to be basic expectations to livea free and reasonable life, with out fear of the government, and an elected say in the people representing them. The only time where education would be required would be in the drafting of these issues by a legal framework so they stand in law as being unchangeable, or change only with unaminous consent. Teh drafters of the USA constitution did not have much education compared to todays people, and they did an ok job.

The whole income trusts issue was one where time and events made it so he did have to reverse himself on that issue, and the same with any other reverses he made. In all you will see that it was first examined and then decisions made in the benefit to the public at large. It is not like the Liberals who reversed every time they thought they could score points or make under handed deals. Harper is a saint compared to those of the Liberal ranks, and the voters can see that. The one way to get the issue of the detah penalty to again come forward is to stir up the people. That last time it was voted on it wasa whipped vote because it would have never passed otherwise. Those who have any brains will see that it is very stupid to again bring this issue up, as today there are just too many people that would side on the pro death penalty with certain conditions. Harper and the CPC in general would not want this again to be brought back to be revisited, even though today it would probably play against abolishing the death penalty. Too many events and upcoming trials that would be high profile for this issue. So it is better left alone and it will stay that way.

I actually do not think that these ads were a good thing, but I do see where Harper has decided to maybe shine an light on the Dion and the Liberal party, as right now these guys are worse then the Keystone Cops. But the fatc that the public is not in election mode they are really not looking and that is maybe why the adds have come about. I personally would have wished that Harper just take the high road in all of this, but you got to give the man credit for not making much more of this, as he could really do a lot of damage if he were determined to do so. For now he is satisfied with making public what everyone probably already know and that is that Dion is pathetic as a party leader. If the liberals have him still there when an election writ is dropped, it will not be a pretty sight. The ads are in my own view, a little over the top, but after a weks or twos play they should stop and let the polls tell them if they were successful or not.

You again are not seeing what is right in front of you. We do not have the death penalty in Canada. It is not even open for arguement, accept by those who think they know something that everyone else does not. Have you heard Harper say he is willing to reopen the death penalty issue? No, because he said directly that he does not want to revisit that. Snce Harper is known for doing as he says he would, why is it that you think this is some underhanded method of revisitting the policy. If anything it is the alarmists like you who are reopening this issue. As for it being a fundamental duty for a government to intervene on behalf of all its citizens go, where do you get this? It is not written in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Why do you think that it is the goverments duty to intervene on your behalf if you break laws while outside of the country? They only duty is to see that you are treated fairly and humanly, that is it. It does not say that you get to break laws and then not be punished. The are there to first see if there is evidence of what you are charged with, and then to see that you have support at trial and the trial is fair according to the justice of the land you are in. That it it for government duty goes. You travelled and you broke the laws, that would be the facts. This is what happens when people think that the government is their keeper and will be all things to all people. To start with the government can not do much of anything if you break the laws in fooreign lands. They can make pleadings for leniency, but if the courts dismiss them then that is it. You are responsible for your own actions in foreign lands, just as you are responsible for laws you break here. The only difference is that courts and customs of the foreign countries are probably not the same as they are here, but you should have made yourself aware of these things before travelling.

First off the expansion and contraction of gasoline is not really a large factor in shipping the goods. It has less then 2% difference. In summer there will be a higher pressure for vapourization and the pressures in the tanks would get very high unless vented to some degree. So yes there would be more loss in eveporation in summer, but again we are talking about small numbers. Now as for how close the majority of Canada's population is to the US borders go, there is well beyond 70% of the people in Canada that the border is only an hour drive away. By this I mean normal driving not counting rush hour traffic. All of southern, and eastern Ontario are well within one hour of the border. Montreal is pretty much one hour or less from the border and the same can be said for the lake shores of the great lakes. This will be at least 70% or more of Canada's population. So yes the high dollar will make for many going to the USA for things. I posted about the car hoist I bought and how I saved thousands by buying from the USA side. I can show you places in Canada who try to sell that same hoist for 4 times what I paid and it is exactly the same even the part number are the same. That is why I will not have any sympathy when these Canadian companies go out of business, as they should have never been allowed to be in Business in the first place. The CDN hit $1.10 for a bit and then settled down to $1.07. If we look at this we will see that almost .04-.05 were from weakening USD and the rest really was from higher oil prices. China announced this week that it was converting some of its USD holdings because of the weak USD. This has also caused many other countries to lessen their holdings and as I predicted 8 months ago that once this starts it is very hard to stop. We will see $1.20 CDN by this june and it may even go higher. This is going to stay this way for well over a year or two and may well become the norm in many eyes, but the USD will again make some gains back, but not while Bush and company are in power. The phsycological effect of a new president and new policies will give it a bump back up, but depending on who the new president is and what policies he will take, will depend on whether that bump has staying power or not. The USA has the ability to get its debt under control a lot quicker then most other countries, but it alos will have to suffer some to do this. I think the next president may well be willing to fix the mess, and start a new and build it even better and stronger, but that will take time and probably a couple different presidents, with the same view on policies. It is always easier to destroy then to rebuild. For now I suggest that the people let the retaillers know that they are going to loose the christmas rush to cross border shopping, unless they adjust prices accordingly. It will not take long to see dwindling numbers if they do not act on things, and that will be a death knell of their own making.

To all those sppewing the garbage about Canada and the death penalty. Wake up and smell the roses. Canada does not have the death penalty, does it? Since we can only make laws for ourselves and not those of other countries, why would it be our government duty to intervene in all cases where one or more of our citizens went to another country and broke the law? We can only ask that we consider that here we do not have the death penalty and we would never extradite anyone to a country where that is on the table. This is all we can do as we do not have the right to interfere in foreign countries politics or especially their justice systems. Flap your gums and throw tantrums all you like and it only shows that you are impotent and have no reason to be given any standing, as you cna not see where we here have seperation of politics and justice, and you then want us to go into other lands and do what we would never stand for here in Canada? Shame on you and all who think this way. Canada has a very good reputation abroad and we are seen as being fair in our deallings with foreign countries, but if we start trying to push our justice over the justice of these foreign lands, it will not be long before we are seen as interfering, and from there hatred will follow. Canadians when they travel are pretty much informed of the things that they need to watch out for legal wise, at least that has been the case with my wife and I when we book trips with travel agencies. Now if we decide to break any laws while we are in foreign lands we know that will face a justice system that may be far different from our own. That is something we have to agree to, or we just do not travel to that country. In the case of the USA, they have pretty much the same laws as we do, but they definitely have different punishments. What we must not forget is that is guy everyone is talking about, is not saying he was tried and things were wrong. He admits to killing these two people and his only issue is that the state where he did this is going to put him to death. The state definitely does not want to send this guy back to Canada because we will let him out after a few more years, and that is not what the state would even commute the sentence to. There he will serve time until he dies in prison. If they could make him do twice that they would as he killed two people. The state has a reasonable position in this and I can see why they do not trust the Canadian authorities to do what they feel is right. It really should end right there, as for us to go any further then we are forcing our political will on to a foreign justice system. As I sid earlier we would not stand for political intervention into our courts, so why is it that people want us to do so here?

As for whether Mulroney was a crook goes. I thing he is and yes I think he did some of this while he was PM. He also is guilty of the same type of arrogance that Trudeau had when he left politics, and also damaged the party he was part of. As for the deallings he did after he left politics goes, that is totally different and if the RCMP decide to open this up and investigate it then that would have my OK. But as far as having judical inquiries about what he did while a normal businessman, that is just way over the mark. It also puts a very large deep pocket to strike back at and get compensation, if things again can not be proven wrong, and reputation damaged. Harper is correct in saying he is not about to risk that. Now maybe the Liberal party would like to fund this and if they are wrong they can then be sued for tarnishing Mulroney. I think if done right they may succeed in making him the villain, but this would be a search and destroy type case, and if it fails the costs of several million should come directly from the pockets of the party that wants this to go ahead. After the last time where the taxpayers had to cough up and this time, is there really enough of a change tpo warrant a criminal charge? If so then why has the RCMP not done so as that would be their job. If they do not think it has changed enough to warrant charges, then why are the political opposition trying to start inquiries that cost million for a fishing mission. I am not sure, but if as has been reported that Mulroney did eventually pay taxes on this amount, the government would have gotten the lions share of it with interests and penalties, so why are we again looking at wasting more money in this. As I said above, let the opposition run their own investigation at their own expense, and also their own liability, if it again tarnishes without cause Mulroney's reputation.

I think that you will find that there is a majority of people who would like to see the death penalty in cases where police and guards are killed in the line of duty. They would also permit it in cases where there are multiple killings and proved either by DNA or by confession that they are guilty. You only find that most oppose the death penalty, in cases where there are jury trials and verdicts are disputed by the defendents. More and more defendents would also choose the death penalty over lifetime incarceration, even though many knwow that at the worst it is 25 years and you probably will get parole unless you really are proven still malfunctioning. I lived thru the last arguments for and against the Death Penalty, and believe me when I say that in the publics eyes it was close call to make. While the death penalty does make it impossible to reoffend, it also is irreversible, and only in that small issue lies the reason between the two sides.

The Canadian manufacturers can now invest in upgrades and robotics which then will make them capable of competing with even China and other low wage countries. Those who are not willing to do so, will probably die a slow death. The trouble with manufacturers are that they think that they must maintain all the pricing at inflated levels to compete, and are not used to having to do the thinking themselves. The biggest cost in all manufacturing is labour, and yes while it is nice when they can keep people working, but if it comes down to replacing unskilled labour with machines, then they need to do so quickly and then adjust prices and go compete in the world economy. I saw today in the paper where the USA trading will affect only 30% of our economy, and that is not that high a number. But if companies modernise and then take advantage of those savings they can compete with out much problems for many years. The USA manufacturing will be already doing this and I am sure they are hurting more to get this as their dollar is tanking much faster then people foresaw it would. I do not think that the high dollar is the greatest thing, but it does have its good sides and bad. There are more good then bad when it comes to the high dollar. Those who think manufacturers will close and move, are not very good business people, and maybe they should go. Just do not come back looking for hand outs, and they may even find that duties may well apply to goods from the places they move to, making them more expensive then if they stayed. It should be on the minds of all those who are involved with foreign trade to see that soon the USA will become protectionist, and we with the freetrade agreement will then be in a better seat. Things are going to change and once Bush is gone, things will change fast. What was and is today will be longed for in a year or so to come. Right now Canada is along for the ride from the good seats, and we should make the most of it while we can.

The consumers in Churchill will order thru the net and yes they do this already and have much of it for the year shipped there by ice road trucking and rail. They are easier to stand up to this as they have to order a year ahead and ship mostly during the winter. But if prices have not equalled out by Christmas, the consumers will have bought on line from USA pr gone shopping there. Since most of store revenues come from the Christmas shopping season, you will see all those who did not adjust prices having going out of business sales in January. Canadians have learned something, that Americans will have to learn and that is when the price is too high, you just do not buy. Only necessities like food is where you need to spend. We learned to take care of personal debt and then wait for things to change to lower prices, or go where the price is still cheap. The USA will learn this as their dollar goes lower, it is not as if they can skip that part. Hell I have bought things from countries all around the world and got very good deals even with shipping and duties etc. That is why I said Canada is not worried that the USA will stop buying from us, as we all know now that it is a world market, and that means that you do not have to feel locked inot any deals anymore.

I really do not think the CDN will go as far as being double that of the USD, but you never know. The price differences here in Canada at this moment are such that partity pricing had better happen in the next 6 weeks or a lot of those who do not adjust will just have no customers. There is room for some differences, but by that I mean less then 5%, if companies try to get more then they are going to have the backlash of the Canadian consumer, and once that starts there is no way to stop it. If the automobile sector does nto do this by the new year, then they might as well start laying off people, as consumers will not allow the 20-30% differences that exist now. In fact once the looney hits $1.10, Canadians will expect lower prices then the USA. Same for all large store chains.

I will not even begin to take the greedy commercial side in this. I did some checking about Four post automobile lifts, and was interest in a commercial on not the parking hoists that are advertised. The US company that sells these do so at $2560.00 USD shipping to me here in Canada would be $600.00. The Canadian distributor for these say he wants $5350.00 and I would have to pick it up or pay $400.00 shipping. He said that he had to pay a 38% duty on these as since the inner chains and pullies are fro Asia they then have this duty. I checked with the Customs people and they said that things like hoist made in asia are accessed a 6% duty plus the CSA certified sticker, about $35.00. Of cours ehtn the GST and PST but that would play either way. The Canadian dealer said that he pays $800.00 shipping from the USA and he would have to order this as he was out of stock and it would be 3 weeks. So it tallied up that he was selling these at 110% profit from the retail in the USA and I am sure he buys at even lower then that. He lied about his shipping and alos about the duty he paid, just to try an justify his prices. He had to order it and so there was no high paid stock he was having to go thru. Needless to say that I bought from the USA supplier and when it cleared customs there were no duties as more then 80% of it was produced in the USA, and the shipping to my door was $600.00. I also paid a customs company $120.00 for the paper work and clearing issues. Now had that Canadian distributor lowered his price to say $3,200.00, and I would pay the shipping from his place at even the $400.00, he would have made about 40% or more profit. But because he was greedy, he will get zip. I have many more things I wish to buy but now I am waiting to get the GST cut in January. If Canadian dealers do not have price parity by then, they can go bankrupt as far as I am concerned.

I am definitely not squirming and neither are our bankers or anyone else for that matter. Yes the low USD will affect our manufacturer's but it is not a death knell for them. There is a whole world out there, and our manufacturer's will pay a bit more in transporting things, but it will end up selling more to these other countries. Russia and Canada are growing a very large trade relationship, and the same goes for most of the European countries and such. Do not get me wrong I think we still would rather trade with the USA, and that probably will be our main trading partner even with the high CDN, but for those areas where trade just dries up, Canada will seek new trades with others to fill the needs and also our ability to survive. The one thing that seems to be driving alot of this is the world price for oil. You know that no matter how high this goes, the USA will have to pay the price. Even if all the alternative fuels started to be used tommorow, the USA will still have the biggest thirst for petroleum, in all the world. Even it you drilled al the oil in Alaska and pumped every oil reserve dry, you still would not be seld sufficient in that. That can abd will be your achilles heel. Not to mention that most of the things the people of the USA have gotten used to are imported and that will mean large price rises, and more having to do without. But most of this is not things that can not be done without, but rather things to add to comforts. The USA will survive and it will do so even if the USD goes really down, like it did with the CDN. Life style is about the only thing this will cost the people. I am not sure that the people will not see this and willingly accept it and work for new strong ways from there. Just as we here in Canada did not give up hope when things were rough, I think the same will be said of the american people when the times get rough there.

First off, I do not support the government bringing home prisioners who are sentenced in other countries, to serve their time here. They broke the law in the other countries and so they should serve their sentence there, it is that simple. As for asking for clemency on the death penalty goes, they can ask but that is as far as it should go in this. We should not be meddling in the internal afairs of foreighn countries who are democratic and have courts that rule on laws written in that countries justice system. If there are any injustices, that seem apparent then yes our government should seek to fine out why and what has caused these and take action only on a case per case issue. The rest of this stuff in this thread is just political garbage being used to change the channel away from the sad melt down of the Liberal party's inner most people. I can see why they would want this to happen. But face it, we are all being used once again by the Liberals, to eb tricked in looking the other way, when they want to be left in the shadows to try and cover up things they would rather us not see. But that is done all the time by all parties I guess. This really is a non issue and the fact that it has now taken nearly a week of people dwelling on this, is really a good indication thta it has worked to some degree. What this policy change has done is nothing more then say that asking for Clemency for Canadian prisoners, is not and should not be an automatic thing. First off, if it becomes automatic, it then reduces the importance of those it is applied to. If we only use this whne there are questions about the law and how it was applied, then when we do ask it, it will have more weight. In countries like China where to be sentenced to death means you have 24 hours to make any appeals before you are shot dead, rally means that you want this to have as much weight as it possibly can. If it is something done automatically the Chineese will automatically dismiss it. I thing that the method and the reasons for why this change has been made are really grounded in solid judgement, and are the best for all involved. The case of this guy from Alberta, is not one of if he is innocent, as he has admitted his guilt. It now is one of the severity of sentencing, so it really is not an isue the Canadian Government, should be involed in, as it has no standing in the internal laws of a foreign country. All comment on this are just rabble about people having issues of the death sentence. They should go to the USA and protest there, not here, where we already have agreed not to use the death penalty. People need to go where their voices will make a difference, and here is not that place.

The CDN will be going higher and from my family ties into the banking world I can tell you that most bank CEO's have said six months ago that it will hit $1.10 by next June, but they are now saying everything is happening much faster and they figure it will now be at a minimum of $1.10 just before Christmas. They are also saying that coming into the new year the USD will fall against most of the world currencies by another 10% by mid 2008. If they are right we will see a $1.20 CDN by next summer. They also are not and I repeat not seeing any fast turn around for the USD for the remainder of 2008- 2009. So if our banks are setting their money policies on this data, I would say that we would be wise to follow suit. It does not look like the USD will have much good news on it for quite some time to come. I know I am waiting till January to buy several large purchases, from the USA, as I want the GST cut as well asthe higher CDN. I could hold out till June, but most of what I wnat is for a kit car I am building in my retirement, and I do most of my work over the winter, but if the difference is high enough I can schedule for later. Hell, if I am lucky I may even see Canadian retailers selling at US prices by then, but I will not hold my breath on that.

Myata you seem to question everything and try to make it not worth the efforts. Why are you here if you are so concerned, get off your butt and go to Afghanistan and tell them all this stuff. You only do this because you are safe and warm here in Canada, and you like being petty as we have all seen by your not picking questions. It is sad that we have people like you, who question all war, but will be the first to scream for help if you were ever attacked. War is never a good option, but it is an option when all else has failed. In this case it is the Afghani people who need our help, and you question the reasons why they are not kissing our butts for this help. The biggest reason would be, that to show us any public support could easily mean the Taliban will come by your house that night and slit the throats of any and all your family. You do not live in the same world as these people, and you definitely do nt have even the slightest idea of what and how things are done there. But yet you will condem all thise who fight in this time of need. You really make yourself look small minded and very uncaring, but that is just what you do here. I hope in the real world you are not so foolish to say these things near those who actually risk their lives in this .

I bought my first home in Gatineau in 1974. Both my wife and myself worked in Ottawa, and were always paying extra taxes coem tax time. I had also started 2 businesses, that the quebec government yold me I had to keep my books in french and I told them where to go and exactly how to get there fast. They threatened to take me to court, and in 1982 I just said for them to go screww themselves and moved to Ontario, where both my wife and myself got tax refunds every year. The tax difference was such that we each paid almost $1,800.00 more in taxes in Quebec, but when we moved to ontario we bought a tree farm and then got approx that same amount back in tax refunds. So the difference for the two of us was $7,200 per year to our credit. I would never move back to that province for any reason. By the way my wife is french and even she took exception to how the quebec government tried to push the issue. I would be shocked to think that there are that many more anglophones left in Quebec to manage to make any kind of large numbers leaving any more. I personally do not care if Quebec seperates, but if it does, I would be willing to fight to make it so they only leave with what they came into Canada with in the first place, and if they will not accept this, we should have a final battle and see who wins. When it comes to quebec and their whiney french, I would rather any other immigrant then these guys, but that is why it is good that I am not in power, because the seperatist problem would be solved quickly once and for all, and all opposed charged with treason, and banished. Yeah yeah, I know I am cranky today

And this has what to do with fereal politics? It would seem more like a health issue at best.

I do not understand what you are saying here. We already pay gst on gas and such and depending on the province we also pay provincial tax on them. So they are already there and are included into the price you see at the pump. As for the .5% that the CPC raised the lowest tax bracket, it now has lowered it back by that amount. I do not see where you get it that they are again taking that back. The only issue in harmonizing the PST and GST is that in effect it would be a tax on the tax if done the way it has been in provinces like Quebec. But that has been going on for years now. Ont does not harmonize because of the tax on tax issue. But if the federal government wanted to have al people harmonize the taxes, all they need do is make it so one tax is not added and the the second tax calculated on the new amount. So I am not sure what your point here is. But maybe it is just me.

Does anybody think that Bush will do much of anything to shore up the USD, with the time he has left to do so? I still see Bush as being way too engrossed in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to really care much about the USD. I am sure he would rather it not be so, but he will probably put a positive spin on this much the same way we did here in Canada when our dollar was in the tank. I just do not see the president taking much time and effort to lessen the fall of the USD at all. I maybe wrong, but I have yet to hear from him any comment about the issue. The federal reserve has not really acted much on anything and the small interest raises, here and there do not indicate that they find the lower dollar such a large thing to worry about. The drop in the USD is probably the best way to make sure that the american people spend their money at home, rather then abroad, and the obvious rise in prices of imported goods will make for more reasons for manufacturing within the USA. I am not sure if there really is a number where this type of thing is made clear to people, but I think it will have to drop a lot more then a few cents, for this to be a driving force. If the drop is large and thought to be long term, then yes I think that the USA will again become protectionist and manufacturing will again return to the domestic market. That may well spell bad news for Canada in some respects, but since Canada is now more of an oilsupplying economy, it will not hurt us as much as it would have 20 years ago.

I would welcome any form of working senate, but I also would like to see it elected and set terms for each senator. I have a huge problem with the way it is now, where it can be stacked with lifetime appointments, and then used as a weapon to stall things or speedy passage. I like the idea of a sober second thought, but not the patisan methods seen today. Harper has the right idea and it is something that he should try to put forward as much as he can. This is the kind of thing that can be done by adding the referendum questions to the voting ballots, during the next federal election. It would also make for a good campaigne strategy for all parties depending on how they see the new senate being formed. This issue would be more telling about things then a lot of the things each party wants to be shown as, during an election. Quebec might surprise many of us as I do not think the voters would be against senate reform, where the provincial governments may be more so. Iguess I would see the split on this as being one where the Liberals would be against reform, but the fact that I do not know what the Liberals are standing for anymore, I guess they may surprise me on that.

There is no denying that the USA economy is is trouble and the USD is going to sink much lower before there is any relief. These I think are a given. Bush and company are not doing much of anything to alleviate these things and will definitely leave a very indebted white House to the next guy. Just how far is Bush willing to let this go, will depend on what he sees as the possibility of a republican taking over or a democrat taking over. I think either one will still have large problems but Bush may make it even more so if he feels the democrats will win, and then he will just not even try to shore things up. Either way he will leave a huge mess behind for others to clean up. The people will feel his footprint on them for many years to come. That is not the kind of thing that makes people feel better about the USA and their money policies. Once enough nations see that this is not going to be a short term thing, they may start dumping USD holdings. If this happens, it will have a snowballing affect on the USD. As we all seem to agree there is not much the USA can do about this, it means that much of the sway in the world will also dimish along with that dollar. I hope that it does not go really far out of control, but with things no happening at the speed they are. I would not surpise me to see $1.10 cnd by early spring. That is kind of the way other money market analyst have seen things, but more have been caught off guard with the speed of things so far. I think at its worst you may see the two dollars switch roles and if all turns bad you may even see .62 USD, but things will have to have gone wrong in many things for that to happen, but we here in Canada know that it can and does happen, and while it doe not make life in your own country that bad, it will make travel and many other things out of reach for many people. It will be easier to predict things once we see who the next president will be and what policies he feels take priority.